Excise policy case: Arvind Kejriwal moves fresh plea in Delhi HC

Arvind Kejriwal has moved a fresh plea in Delhi high court seeking protection from any ‘coercive action’ by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the excise policy case, ANI reported on Thursday.

A division bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait will hear the Delhi CM in the morning session itself. The development comes on a day when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor is scheduled to appear before ED; he has skipped each of the eight previous summons sent by the federal agency, and is likely to give the ninth one, a miss as well.

Kejriwal’s earlier appeal in the high court was heard on Wednesday. Arguing for the chief minister, who challenged all the summons, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi contended that the AAP chief won’t appear before the ED as the agency has a ‘clear intent’ to arrest the politician with the Lok Sabha elections around the corner.

On its part, the ED opposed the plea on maintainability grounds.

Though the HC posted the matter to next be heard on April 22, it did not grant any relief to the petitioner.

On March 16, the national capital’s Rouse Avenue court granted bail to Kejriwal in the case filed by the agency for skipping its summons.

Those arrested by the ED in connection with the case include several of Kejriwal’s AAP colleagues, including senior party members Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, and others, from and not from the AAP.